“In the Hands of Students: The Charge of a Minority-Serving Institution Student Council at a Dual-Designated Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution and Hispanic-Serving Institution”
by Kristine Jan Cruz Espinoza and Reneé T. Watson
ABSTRACT: The U.S. News and World Report has ranked the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) as being one of the most racially diverse institutions, and UNLV has received dual-designations as an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution and Hispanic-Serving Institution. Concurrently, pervasive physical threats, student demands for change, and results of a campus climate survey created a peremptory need to center the cultural wealth of minoritized students to organize and coalition build. This essay focuses on the UNLV Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) Student Council (MSISC) and its charge to lead campus initiatives that promote success for minoritized students to become a truly serving MSI. Written by one of the MSISC members and their advisor, we historicize the MSISC’s creation and share ideas for similar MSI-focused student committees and task forces.
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Article Citation: Kristine Jan Cruz Espinoza and Reneé T. Watson (2022) In the Hands of Students: The Charge of a Minority-Serving Institution Student Council at a Dual-Designated Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution and Hispanic-Serving Institution. AAPI Nexus: Policy, Practice and Community: 2022, Vol. 19, No. 1 & 2.